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Estate Planning › Undue Influence Claims › Appeals

Estate Planning is a process where individuals prepare or plan for the settlement of their personal affairs in the event of incapacitation or death. Estate plans typically include provisions relating to the... more +
Estate Planning is a process where individuals prepare or plan for the settlement of their personal affairs in the event of incapacitation or death. Estate plans typically include provisions relating to the disposition of assets, guardianship of minor children, and appointment of representatives to make medical and financial decisions. Effective estate planning can decrease tax liability and facilitate the probate process.  less -
Winstead PC

Court Affirmed Summary Judgment Order Finding That A Will Should Be Set Aside For Undue Influence

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In Monariti v. Monariti, a will contestant filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging that the will should be set aside due to undue influence. No. 14-23-00062-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 6476 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.]...more

Warner Norcross + Judd

What Type of Facts Support a “Confidential or Fiduciary Relationship” Determination to Trigger the Presumption of Undue Influence?

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Two recent Michigan Court of Appeals cases delve into what it takes to successfully pursue an undue influence claim. In re Sherrod Estate, No 369863, 2025 WL 855275 (Mich Ct App Mar 18, 2025) (unpublished) and In re Estate of...more

Winstead PC

Appellate Court Affirms Findings That Decedent’s Will Was Not A Product Of Undue Influence And That He Had Mental Capacity

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​​​​​​​In In re Estate of Hogan, a father executed a new will, leaving his estate to one of his sons (Harold) and disinheriting his other son (Gary). No. 11-20-00170-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 3863 (Tex. App.—Eastland June 9,...more

Goulston & Storrs PC

Probate & Fiduciary Litigation Newsletter - April 2022

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This newsletter is intended to keep readers informed about developments in probate and fiduciary litigation in Massachusetts and New York. Our lawyers are at the forefront of this area of the law, shaping how it is handled in...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The Court of Appeals Takes a Look at an Undue Influence Claim from a Non-Jury Trial

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The COVID-19 pandemic has forced litigants to wrestle with the dilemma of waiting for a jury trial or moving forward more expeditiously by way of a bench trial.  Recently, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, and the...more

Conn Kavanaugh

Defining Testamentary Capacity

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In Haddad v. Haddad, the Massachusetts Appeals Court sent a stark reminder to probate litigators about just how difficult it is to prove a claim of lack of testamentary capacity. Such a finding must rely on specific facts...more

Downey Brand LLP

Daughter Liable for Interfering with Stepmother’s Inheritance

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Intentional interference with expected inheritance (IIEI) was recognized as a legal claim in California about eight years ago in Beckwith v. Dahl (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 1039. Last week, the Court of Appeal issued the first...more

Holland & Hart LLP

Arbitration Clause Held Not Enforceable as to the Validity of the Trust Amendment

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There has been considerable discussion regarding including arbitration clauses in estate planning documents over recent years. Some estate and trust attorneys are actively pushing for the inclusion of such clauses. Recently,...more

Downey Brand LLP

Your Slice of the Pizza – Only Directly Inherited Asset Qualifies as Separate Property

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It is widely understood in California that inherited assets, unlike assets earned from labor, are the separate property of the receiving spouse.  But what if the assets do not come directly from a parent and instead pass from...more

Downey Brand LLP

When Defending Becomes Offensive: California Court Expands No Contest Clauses to Defense of Invalid Amendment

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No contest clauses are included in wills and trusts to discourage dissatisfied beneficiaries from challenging the document’s validity. Because enforcement of these clauses results in disinheritance, the California Probate...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirms Finding Of Undue Influence Regarding Execution Of Will

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In In re Estate of Russey, the decedent was going through a divorce and signed a will. No. 12-18-00079-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 1536 (Tex. App.—Tyler February 28, 2019, no pet. history). ...more

Cranfill Sumner LLP

The Requisites for a Valid Will in North Carolina versus Texas: Blinking a Testator’s Estate Plan and Execution of a Will

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Recently a Texas intermediate appellate court affirmed a trial court’s ruling to admit a Will for probate when the decedent did not personally sign it and only communicated his desires by blinking. In the Texas case, the...more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That There Was Insufficient Evidence To Establish That Account Beneficiary Designations Were Executed As A Result Of...

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In Fielding v. Tullos, an administrator of a decedent’s estate brought claims against the decedent’s housekeeper for undue influence and other related claims arising from the execution of new account beneficiary designations...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirmed The Probate Of A Will Where The Testator, A Quadriplegic, Blinked His Desires To Draft And Execute The Will

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In Estate of Luce, the court of appeals affirmed a trial court’s admitting a will to probate where the decedent did not personally sign it and only communicating his desires by blinking. No. 02-17-00097-CV, 2018 Tex. App....more

Dentons

Farmland Inheritance: Intentional Interference Judgement Upheld in Court

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On July 18, 2018, in the case In the Matter of Estate of Lois B. Erickson the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court finding of invalidity of a will based on undue influence and lack of testamentary capacity, and found...more

Downey Brand LLP

Courts Should Read Elder Abuse Act Broadly to Stop Wrongdoers

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California’s Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act is elastic enough to encompass claims arising from sharp insurance sales practices, even when elders do not pay anything directly to the agents. So concluded...more

Winstead PC

Court Voided Judgment Based On Family Settlement Agreement Where Party Revoked Consent

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In In re Estate of Spiller, a party appealed an order admitting a will to probate and ordering the independent administrator to distribute the estate in accordance with a family settlement agreement. No. 04-15-00449-CV, 2016...more

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